Dora snapped this photo of Gabriella and I near our house.
If the legend is true, winter will be upon us soon! Fireweed blooms in the late summer and early autumn. According to Alaska’s old-timers, when the fireweed reaches its full splendor, and pink blossoms ascend all the way to the top of the flower’s spire, winter will begin in six weeks.
Click here to read a cool story about fireweed, and how it works as a natural countdown to winter.
Me and Scooter-bug!
Gabriella decked out for the baby show!
I signed my baby up for the Tanana Valley State Fair Baby Show. I’m not a freaky “Toddlers & Tiaras” type, but I think my child is adorable, so I wanted to show her off. Don’t worry, I didn’t put make-up, or false eyelashes on Gabriella, but I did put a bow in her patchy hair and had her practice waving “Hi.” She likes to do this, so I wasn’t asking too much.
Gabriella did a great job! She walked on stage with her dad’s help and laughed and waved at all of the judges. There were tons of kids in her division—“The Creepers.” I know it took more than an hour for all of the kids to make their way across the stage. Both boys and girls participated. First-place winners in each of the divisions moved on to compete for the Harvest Prince and Princess titles. Winners earned cool sashes, an engraved metal cup and prizes from several local kids’ stores. Gabriella didn’t place in the top three, but she did get “Alaska’s Most Eager Baby” for her division. The girl gets so excited when she starts walking and she just laughs and smiles and squeals—I’m sure that earned her the award!
The baby show itself was terrific, but getting there was, well, a nightmare. I had to work, slip out of the events early, change from a dress into jeans, change Gabriella, find a parking spot at the fair, pay admission, and check her into the contest in exactly thirty minutes. There was no time for dilly-dallying and it was crazy. To make matters worse, Gabriella stabbed herself in the face and then peed a gallon all over my pants and seat in the car. I had to wear a pair of Adam’s dirty dog lot jeans into the fair! They were big and hanging a little low. At one point I looked down to see that two inches of my bright red underwear were on display for everyone. Good thing Adam agreed to be the one to take Gabriella across the stage.
Can you see how happy I am to be looking for a house? I'm just thrilled to find a place that has broken pipes, smells, or where I'll have to smuggle my child in.
So, looking for a place to live can be kind of demoralizing. In fact, I think it’s worse than looking for a job. You can make some compromises with a job, you may take a little less pay, decide to drive a little further, or try a new career field to challenge yourself. But when you look for a house, you get what you get what you get. Ya know? I mean, you may decide to pay a little more, or move further out, but it’s not like there’s potential for the house to get better or bigger if you work hard, appreciate it more, or become the A-1 tenant. It remains the same.
People are weird, too. Interacting with would-be landlords and property managers is… well, interesting. So far, Adam and I have interacted with a disgruntled broker’s assistant that showed us a stank hog pen of a home with a mold disclosure and then told us about a duplex that could be just perfect for us. It just had a leak in the roof, or something wrong with the pipes, no biggie. I met a grumpy dwarf (I’m not kidding!) that said, “Amy WHO?” We talked to a lot of Amy’s yesterday and I don’t know which one YOU are.” I was overwhelmed by her customer service, to say the least. And then the best yet was a mean man renting a small house off Chena Hot Springs Road that said, “How many are you?” to Adam. To which he said, “Well, it would be me, my wife and our daughter.” The landlord said, “Na, I just want two people.” Adam explained that our daughter was just an infant, we wouldn’t be sharing the house with another adult, but the guy wouldn’t budge. He said he didn’t “do” babies because they were a liability. It was like Gabriella was a dog or something. Do we need to put down a baby deposit? What a jerk! Anyway, like a sign from heaven, Adam’s phone just magically shut off right in the middle of the man quizzing Adam on his employment. He didn’t bother to call him back!
House hunting is a bitch. This is probably why we didn’t move sooner even when our current landlords became increasingly greedy and ungrateful. It finally took a testy conversation two months ago about extending our lease out for another year, that I finally decided come hell or high water I was moving! I promptly gave our notice. But now, the reality has set in and I have to find another place.
Anyway, send your prayers and good vibes our way. Hopefully we can find something that will suit our family perfectly until our place on Himalaya is finished. I’m trying to will it into reality. Help me make it so!
On a less sarcastic note: Here's my sweetie chompin' on some watermelon. Yes, she's in her car seat, and, yes, she made a terrible mess. But I've learned that sometimes, it's just easier to clean up a mess than it is to hear a child bawl!
The Wood River Fire is located south of Fairbanks. To date, 16,000 acres have burned.
The summer’s been plagued with wildfires. Some days have been really smoky, which becomes horrible when it’s really hot. Lately, the Wood River Fire, just about 30 miles south of Fairbanks, has grown. The last report I read said the fire had burned 16,000 acres. Work is being done to protect cabins in the area.
Yesterday, when Adam picked me up from work, we drove over to the West Ridge lookout on campus. From there, it looked like a volcano had erupted! There was a huge plume. We had some binoculars handy, and looking through them you could see aircraft picking up huge containers of water to dump on the fires.
Today, a coworker came by my office and asked if I would follow her to the roof so I could take a picture of the sky. The window by my desk faces north, so I had no idea that to the south, the sky had erupted into an end-of-days scene. Our building is eight-stories-high, so the vantage point was terrific.
Some current AK wildfire facts:
*The Wood River Fire was ignited by lightning ten days ago.
*According to the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center, there are 68 active wildfires in state.
*More than 1,287,000 acres have burned to date!
Check out this cool link: http://smoke.arsc.edu/current_fires.html. It’s a wildfire smoke forecast page, developed by scientists at my work!
A fireweed-covered field near my house.
…I wish! In Fairbanks, the fireweed has exploded a fuchsia hue all over surrounding fields. Seeing a large expanse of pinky purple flowers for as far as you can see just doesn’t get old! It’s like witnessing an active aurora swirling in the sky. You can see it many times and it never makes the sight any less potent.
I’m lucky because there’s a large field near my house where the fireweed is really thick. When the wind blows it’s like rippling pink waves across the field and it’s absolutely gorgeous. It’s amazing how the landscape changes so dramatically here. In the winter months, this field is covered in feet of snow and used as the staging area for sled dog races. For a good portion of the year, the terrain is covered in dirty snow, dog poop and straw! In the summer, this place becomes a wildflower haven. There are blue delphiniums, fireweed, clover, and these awesome spindly purple things. I love it!
Today’s a perfect day. Well, it appears so from my work window anyway. It’s sunny and warm and I can’t wait to get home, put the baby in the pack and take a walk. Maybe we’ll snake through some of the tall fireweed and get lost for a while.
A moose moves through a sea of fireweed near my house. It was about 10 p.m.
The one thing I like most about hillbillies is they say it like it is. There’s no fancy two-faced tap dancing, just brutally honest interaction. I appreciate that! Each day, I sludge away in a bureaucracy that probably invented red tape. The simplest of tasks takes days to complete, people whine about being underappreciated and overworked, while banking a pretty nice paycheck. A lot of folks at my workplace thrive on gossip and political maneuvering. Information leaks, you have to know who to trust, and backstabbing isn’t uncommon. Working in that environment five days a week makes me appreciate bold honesty, even if it’s not necessarily what I want to hear. Hillbillies just are what they are. You can accept them or not, but there aren’t any pretences, ya know? They keep it real and I like that.
All of this comes to mind after a recent visit to the territory where my future home north of Fairbanks sits. Adam and I joined a group of friends at a cabin near Mountain Runner Kennel a few weeks back. Basically, we all drank beer and sat around a burning stump. It was hilarious! There’s an old fella named Rick who got the nickname GoogleRick. He’s like a walking encyclopedia, and although he has no phone, no car, no television and no computer, he knows all the current news and gossip. He’s fond of his radio and whatever station he has it tuned to, keeps him in the know. We were cracking up because he was the one to tell everyone in the area that Michael Jackson died right after the news broke. He just buzzed over to the nearest neighbors on his four-wheeler, all the while picking up the skinny on everyone as he made the rounds.
I realize I’m using the term “hillbilly” here, which may offend some, but I assure you, it’s used with fondness and not meant to belittle.
I’m now completely switching gears to discuss the beautiful wedding of my dear friend, Jasmine. Although smoke has plagued the Interior for days, the winds blew just so and the haze cleared for a perfect outdoor wedding last Saturday. As part of the wedding party, I dedicated my whole weekend to the affair: the rehearsal dinner, the early morning wedding-day preps., bouquet making, decorating, wedding, reception, and post-nuptial barbeque. It was terrific, but busy. Based on how I fared, I’m sure the recently hitched couple was absolutely exhausted come Sunday night.
So many things went well and I was so proud of Jasmine and Kerey, but I want to list some of the highlights from the weekend for me:
*I loved being gussied up for the wedding! It was wonderful to put on a beautiful gown, have Gabriella in a sweet dress and laugh and mingle with old, old friends.
*Getting teary over the couple’s choices for music at key points in the day. Jazz and Kerey’s recessional was to Led Zeppelin’s “Tangerine,” the father-daughter dance took place with Stevie Nicks’ raspy “Landslide,” and the couple’s first dance was to “Halo” by Beyonce.
*Seeing my sister choked up over the kind words the groom’s father said in his toast at the reception.
*Watching Adam talk to Gabriella about fireweed at the rehearsal on Chena Hot Springs Road.
*Taking a break from the wedding festivities to watch two Sandhill cranes explore a large empty field near Taste of Alaska Lodge.
*Plenty of strawberry-rhubarb wine at the reception!
*Making really unique bouquets with orchids, fireweed, daisies, and delphinium with Jasmine over coffee, early on her wedding day.
Fireweed 101.
Adam on July 4!
Zonked in the carseat.
Gabriella plays in the grass after the rehearsal dinner.
Jazz and Kerey practicing their vows at the rehearsal.
Walking with Dad!
Me, right before the wedding started!
Me and Gabriella. She's happy there are jellybeans for party favors!
Jasmine strikes a pose on the dance floor!
The evening began proper enough. A group of ladies met for a small dinner at a swanky downtown restaurant. Conversation jumped from Alaska politics to wedding flowers, and all were pleased with their selection of wine and entrée. All turned to complete debauchery once we left the safe confines of the restaurant and entered the Blue Loon.
We arrived at the Loon just as the Chippendales’ finale was underway! This was funny since Jasmine, the bride-to-be, had repeatedly informed us that she did NOT want to be embarrassed in any way during the evening. All X-rated ornaments were banned from the event, and any sexy gifts were handed off prior to the watchful eyes of other club-goers. So, arriving just in time to see ladies have hefty thongs thrust in their face was a great surprise!
Personally, I think the whole Chippendales thing is weird! The guys aren’t like real men. I think slick male bodies and pretty faces are a strange combination. And really, to see a man, dressed only in a thong, dancing around a stage is funny—not sexy. But apparently, in Fairbanks, I’m in the minority with this opinion. The Loon had a full house and these ladies were crazy! They were all over the dancers, pulling at their thongs, spanking their butts, grinding their bodies against them—who knows how much the dancers made!
Watching the spectacle brought many things to mind, but here are a few questions I ruminated on over a Jager shot (served in a 2 ounce plastic dip cup, which was totally tacky) and several beers:
What would draw a man to this type of work? Is it similar to female exotic dancers—drugs and fast cash?
How long does a man last as a Chippendales dancer?
How long does it take to wax a 200 pound man?
After the show wrapped, the DJ came on. It was a guy I had mistaken for one of the dancers’ lovers earlier in the evening. I heard him tell a rather drunk woman, “He’s makin’ money up there, that’s what HE’S doing,” when she was a little critical of a spikey-haired dancer in buttless pants.
The music wasn’t the best, but it was cool to dance to some Michael Jackson songs and some old Usher. I really didn’t hear anything new, but it was still good to dance for a bit. It’s been awhile. After the Chippendales, there were only about four guys in the whole building, so the dance floor was mostly filled with women. The guys there were raunchy young bucks that liked to freak super young thangs on the dance floor. I speculated that they had planned it that way. You know, get the ladies all souped up and then schwoop in.
Here I am trying to analyze it all, but hey—I’m getting older now. I have the wisdom of experience and what used to be super fun and exciting is now a little annoying. I mean shots in plastic cups?! Maybe I’m just jaded since I didn’t get carded. Ouch!
Nonetheless, Jasmine, the beautiful bride-to-be had fun. We had plenty to talk about the next day at a 4th of July barbeque, and I will forever remember the choreographed moves of Sergio, the lone black Chippendale!
Jasmine and her soon-to-be sister-in-law, Tazlena.
Jazz just learned there may be Chippendales at the club!
After 26 years, my mom retired from AAFES. Part of her retirement dinner was the presentation of this check!
So, my parents left me. I’m not kidding. My parents and 19-year-old brother drove out of Alaska yesterday a little after 5 a.m. It’s surreal. I mean, I never imagined that my parents would leave and I would still be here, tootling along Fairbanks streets, doing the same-ol’ thing, while they live it up on a big cross-country adventure to New York.
The last two weeks my mom, dad and brother, Andrew, have been living with my sister in North Pole. Their house sold and the new owners were eager for them to pack up and get out. They did just that. The family cat relocated to my sisters, too, and will make the long ass drive to New York, but I got the family dog.
I know what you’re thinking: ANOTHER one? Yes, another one. A deaf, half-blind 13-year-old barky Dalmatian/Australian Sheepdog mix! He’s standing guard as I write this at the edge of my driveway. I think it makes him feel important to be there and witness who drives down the street. He’s a great dog, despite his old wobbly gait and graying muzzle. Adam said he got into a fight with a neighbor dog last night. Nothing extreme or bloody, just some doggy bravado, but Adam swears he was sticking up for our dog ChaCha. I like that. It’s good to have your family’s back. It’s also good to have the family dog around. If I don’t have my parents or brother around, at least I’ve got their dog.
I just got off the phone with my mom. She actually had cell service along the ALCAN in the wilds of British Columbia. She said they’ve seen more wildlife in the last 24 hours than they’ve seen in the last few years in Alaska! She said they’ve seen seven bears, herds of buffalo, goats, white-tailed deer, moose and caribou. She seemed excited. They’re about to wrap it up after a day of driving through the Northern Rockies. They’re about a half-an-hour outside of Fort Nelson, B.C.
Anyway, I’m sad that my parents and Andrew will be so far away, but I am excited for them. I know they’re eager to explore. Their trip should be an amazing adventure.
My sister, Ashley, and my mom, Lynda. The two are posing in front of a huge seafood sampler. If you can believe it, the two finished that bad boy off!
Here's my dad, Bill, doing what he does best-gabbing.
Andrew heard there was free food and decided to come too! No, my bro is always there to support the fam!
Here's the whole gang that came out for my mom's retirement dinner. It was a beautiful evening on the Chena and the Pumphouse didn't disappoint with the grub!
Adam picked me this lupine just outside Homer.
Nobody visits this blog anymore because I never post anything new. I’m sorry! We are all alive and doing well! It seems the summer has completed sucked the energy out of me to post updates on a regular basis. Every week there’s a new event, or a special get-together that has me in a tizzy.
Here’s some of the latest drama in my life…
My parents and 19-year-old brother are moving across the continent! The fam. is all packed up, their house has sold, and tomorrow at 4 a.m. they begin the long haul to New York, via Oklahoma and Alabama! To me, this sounds like a trip from hell, but they’re excited about the adventure. My brother, well, not so much. I mean he has to ride in a car with his parents for days on end. He said that he secretly bought a pack of smokes, so he can steal away here and there and have a puff. I don’t blame him! Anyone know where Watertown, NY is? That’s their final destination…
My friend Jasmine gets married in twelve days and it’s down to the wire. I’m in the wedding party, so I have to do all the last minute preps., you know like getting my dress altered and finding the perfect shoes. I have to make appointments for a pedicure and figure out what I’m going to do with my hair. We’re also doing all of the flowers for the event, so that’s a little stressful. They won’t come in until the day before, so I imagine that will cause some dramatics. Also, I’m helping referee family dynamics, which is always tricky!
Yesterday, I went to a baby shower for an old high school friend. We all had to introduce ourselves and say how we met the mom-to-be. It was crazy when I thought about it—we met in high school about 16 years ago! I felt like an old women saying this to the crowd. My friend works for a local restaurant in town that prides itself on its cute waitresses. Sometimes the ladies appear in the commercials. Most are in their early twenties. They’re all attractive, giggly and like to show off the curves. My friend is their manager and loves it! She’s worked at the restaurant for 11 years! She’s the queen bee. I was more like a fly on the wall at this event. I just didn’t mesh.
Mid-month I attended the Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference in Homer. It was terrific! Adam, Gabriella and I made the long drive south. The weather was gorgeous and we made a bunch of stops at scenic places along the way. I took a ton of photos. The conference was a great experience. I got to participate in some very inspiring workshops, attend some readings and meet the poet Li-Young Lee. The best part was learning of a new writer based in Homer named Miranda Weiss. I bought her book, and I’m totally digging it! It’s called “Tide, Feather, Snow.”
Heavy rains north of Fairbanks have halted Adam’s progress on our properties there. The road he worked on all last summer was a slick death trap for a few days and things are still juicy. There were actually flood warnings for the nearby Chatanika River. Good thing our house will eventually be built on a mountainside!
Gabriella wakes up with bad hair every morning. Today, it was like a mohawk. I’m not sure what she does to make it stand on end. She must root all around in her sleep or something! For months Gabriella has just had two bottom teeth, but now the top two are busting through. She’s got a little set of choppers now and her smile is just adorable! She’s not walking yet, but I think it will be soon. She’ll stand on her own and raise her hands in the air. It’s like she’s super proud of herself. She waves “hi,” and loves this big stuffed bear she got for Christmas. She’ll wrestle that thing back and forth across our couch. This keeps her entertained for about 15 minutes at a time.
Gabriella caught chewing on her dad's phone charger.
Gabriella and I hiking around Bishops Beach in Homer.
Sweetie in the grass in Homer.
Adam in the backhoe!
Adam snapped this shot of a Grizzly cub alongside the Seward Highway.
Andrew just a few days ago. I'm going to miss him!
"If friends were flowers, I'd pick you!"
Today, I’m pondering old friends. The topic is bittersweet. When I replay in my mind some of the amazing, silly, sweet and harsh things I’ve done with those old friends, I’m surprised by how much time goes by nowadays between visits with those very special people. I don’t know why I’m a little sentimental today. Maybe it’s because an old friend called. She’s in town and would like to connect. I’m hoping our schedules will jibe. It seems that over the years it gets more and more difficult to merge my schedule with others. Now, it’s just not me. I’m also dealing with the ups, downs and whims of my husband and 9-month-old.
Here are some random memories of adventures with old friends:
We were driving back to Fairbanks from the Talkeetna Bluegrass Festival in 1996. Emily Christiansen, Larry Davis, Dale Whitingham and I, along with all of our gear, were crammed into a tiny, tricked out VW Golf. Talkeetna is more than 270 miles south of Fairbanks. Our drive back took about two hours! It was crazy! Emily and I were in the backseat pleading, “Really. Slow down. We’re scared. We mean it. Dale, come on. We’re scared. It’s not funny. Slow down.” On and on we went, but Dale just blasted Danzig’s “Mother” and would laugh with Larry. It was nice to be back home in two hours, though.
After that trip, I was exhausted! I flopped right into my bed. The festival had been a total wake-up call for me. I’d never experienced an Alaskan music festival. You know, where acid-crazed hippies meander around campfires at 5 a.m. selling veggie burritos? Yeah, were crazy mohawked Wasilla dudes trip out on the embers from the fire and try to fly away with them. You know, where the fat greasy Hell’s Angel guards the festival area and scams on drunk teenaged girls? You know, where the music takes backseat to the party in the parking lots? Yeah, that was all new to me. Throw in some ‘shrooms and you can imagine how my young mind was blown! There are many memories associated with that trip, but I’ll leave it at that for this public blog!
At 15 I tried to get a tan on Jasmine Nickell’s roof. She and I climbed onto the sucker from the window in the upstairs bathroom. We didn’t last that long up there. It was sunny out, but not that warm. However, from the roof we could see the nearest neighbor. It was a crack-den trailer that had “Slow” painted on the end of what had once been a crib. It had baby-themed trim painted around the edges. The scrawled sign on the wood was very, very eerie. It definitely looked like something from a horror movie. Again, much to say ‘bout those days, but I’ll tell you in person if you want to know more!
Amanda Bohman was the first friend I told that I was pregnant. She called me at work on my cell phone and proceeded to tell me about her other friend that was expecting. I couldn’t contain myself, I HAD to tell her my news, even though it hadn’t been confirmed yet by my doctor. I remember her being so supportive and sweet as the news gushed out of my mouth. By that time I had moved from my office to the stairwell. I was looking for some privacy and was still in a state of shock and weirded out by my pregnancy. I didn’t want my coworkers to know. Even though our conversation wasn’t super deep, our talk really helped ease my mind. Slowly, but surely I came out of my shell and began to spread the word. I felt better about doing so because of the support from my family and good friends like Amanda.
When an old boyfriend broke the news to me last minute that he would not be traveling from Fairbanks to Anchorage to visit me for Valentine’s Day (which is where I was living at the time), I was really depressed. Valentine’s Day is my favorite of holidays and this scenario of being let down time and again had become the norm in the relationship. I was feeling really low, so my friend Shelley scooped me up and took me to dinner with she and her family. I got a burger that night and some good advice. Shelley basically told me that I was settling for a lame-ass and that I really would find someone that would think the world of me. Well, she was right. I did. And that small gesture of her trying to cheer me up meant the world.
There are many other friends that me so much to me. By not writing about them here, I’m in no way indicating that I’ve forgotten them. These are simply some of the random things that come to mind right now. It would take reams of paper or megabytes of space to note all of the adventures I’ve had with my good old friends. I certainly can’t do them all justice in this one post. But to all of those old friends, please don’t ever think for a moment that you haven’t influenced my life. I think of you often and smile and smile…
 | Emily on Fireweed legend |
